Max (Grapevine)

Hi!  I am Max.  Or Maxy Paxy as a certain 2-year-old human calls me.  Speaking of kids, my foster family has 4 little kids so I am a very busy boy.  My mom talks about spay and neuter a lot; it seems like she didn’t follow her own advice!   

Here are some interesting things that my family has learned while caring for me: 

Kids:  I am good with children.  I live with 4, all under the age of 9.  I am gentle and do not jump on them.  My mom has the kids trained to pick up my poop—I wonder what they do with it.  The little girl likes to sit next to me and cover me with a blanket and read a book.  She’s cute. 

Training:  I have not tried to run away from my house or family.  I know sit, down, and come.  I take treats very softly.  I did jump on the couch—in my defense the kids told me to do it.  But Mom doesn’t encourage that behavior and I haven’t done it since.  We use the word “crate” when I need to go to my crate.  I like to be the model citizen on a leash—I wear an Easy Walk Harness. 

Car rides:  I call shotgun!  I go in the car on a daily basis and I am pretty much a pro. 

Favorite treats:  bully sticks, chicken, licking kids covered in ice cream or following their drip trail 

Cats:  The housecat I live with is seriously a mountain lion (all 7 lbs. of her).  I don’t make eye contact and cut a wide path.  Are these even legal to live with?!  I haven’t noticed an outdoor cat yet, so I am not sure if I’d consider that something fun to chase. 

Other dogs:  I am very polite on leash with other dogs.  Let them bark away and I’ll just ignore the talkers.  Or take me to play with other friendly dogs and I am a happy boy. 

Fears:  I was doing pretty well during previous thunderstorms, but something about the last two with continuous thunder and hail was scary for me.  I made whining noises and was panting very hard.  Mom put a Thundershirt on me and gave me a giant stuffed animal to snuggle with in my crate.  It seemed a little better after that and I was able to relax a bit more.  Odd noises that I haven’t heard before are also a bit concerning.  Usually, I duck down and move away from whatever has me concerned.  For example, a pop can opening startled me at first.  Umbrellas are weird things and I am going to really need to study them more to see if they are safe.  I was moseying around the backyard when the kids were swinging and I got whacked by the swing.  Who knew that swings can go on the attack?  Now I just stay away from anything that looks like a swing. 

Crate:  I use a wire crate at home to sleep in.  I have a fluffy bed inside.  I will go into the crate to have some quiet time and Mom just leaves the door open.  I typically stay inside the crate in the kitchen of my own willpower, but a few nights I wandered to the bedroom hallway to see what the kids were doing.  If Mom doesn’t want me to do that, she just closes the crate.  I am also fed in my crate so the kids don’t touch my food—who knows if their hands are clean, eeewww. 

Housetraining:  I can proudly say that I have used the grass consistently for my required bodily functions.  I usually go out first thing in the morning, mid-day, and several times in the evening.  Mom watches for cues. 

My daily routine usually consists of waking up and walking kids to school.  I usually do my business on the way.  I hop in the car and drive to work with mom.  I climb into a snuggly bed underneath the conference table in her office.  Sometimes people come in an I inch close for ear rubs.  Other times the things that go on are soooooooo boring that I start snoring.  Mom can come in and out of the office and leave the door open and I maintain my post.  Who else will hold down the rug?  We do a potty break around lunch.  Sometimes I get to go out to lunch and enjoy a dog friendly patio at a restaurant.  I round out my afternoon with some rest.  How else could I manage the 4 kids’ schedules.  We go home in the car and walk to school to pick up kids.  Then we bustle around, have some dinner (I love dinner time and do zoomiees around the house), and go out to various practices, like soccer.  I go potty again before bed and we read some books.  Due to us not having another dog, I do most of my outside time on a leash between functions and our busy schedule.  I don’t really seem to care to be left in the yard unless there is someone to play with.  On weekends we do soccer games or stuff like hiking and camping; sleeping in the tent is pretty cool and I might have been treated to a hot dog! 

Note from Family: 

Max is a great dog.  He is a dog, though, and given opportunities to do things that dogs can’t resist—getting into trash, finding food, chewing something up, having an accident—can happen.  We provide an environment as temptation free as possible to set him up successfully.  We pay attention to his needs and he is kept mentally and physically busy.  He isn’t one of the GSPs that needs hours of exercise, but everything we do in a day wears him out and prevents mischief.